In 2009, Jennifer Adair was helping treat a brain cancer patient in an experimental study. The trial required genetic modification of the patient’s blood stem cells in a specialized sterile room at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where Adair is a gene therapy researcher. Over the course of four days, Adair and her colleagues followed strict anti-contamination procedures, stripping off gowns when they stepped out for a meal or a bathroom break, then washing up and “gowning in” again to re-enter the room.
There has to be a better way, she thought. What if the same procedure could take place faster and in any clinic, not just a multimillion-dollar facility with a dozen or more highly trained workers? Her idea was bolstered by experiences working with HIV, which is also a target of experimental gene therapy that, if ever approved, would have a hard time reaching millions of people who need it.
